Artifacts potentially introduced in water bath:
- Bubbles that collect on the bottom of the water bath may be released and trapped under sections.
- Remove bubbles before using the water bath.
- Tissue cross-contamination between blocks.
- Water must be changed daily (or more frequently depending on the number and types of blocks sectioned), and the bath must be wiped clean.
- The water's surface must be cleaned between ribbons with lint-free wipes, such as Kimwipes®.
- Epithelial cells from histotechnologists will collect in water
- Wear gloves during microtomy.
- Don’t lean over the water bath; skin cells will fall into the water bath.
- Change water daily to prevent bacterial and fungal growth, and skim the surface with Kimwipes®frequently.
- Parched earth and tissue separation artifacts in sections
- Flotation bath is too hot; adjust the temperature.
- Tissue left in a water bath for too long or stretched too much.
- Fatty and under-processed tissue may dissolve in a warm water bath.
Adhesives: These can be applied to slides or water baths to help sections adhere to slides.
- Bath adhesives added to water, all of which can contaminate water with bacteria
- Adhesives added to slides, some will leave background staining artifact
- Albumin with glycerin
- Glue
- Poly-L-lysine - suitable for frozen sections of fixed tissue, microwave staining, and immunoenzyme techniques
- Chromium potassium sulfate - suitable for frozen sections of fixed tissue
- Aminoalkylsilane - preferred for in situ hybridization studies
A few tools help guide the sections onto slides when working with ribbons on a flotation bath. In the following pages, we will address a variety of standard instruments and tools used during the process of microtomy.
